


december, 2023 (oh what a night!)

by ghibliterritory



Category: Pacific Rim (Movies)
Genre: Christmas, Deaf Hermann lives, Hermann is In Love, M/M, Secret Santa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-18
Updated: 2019-02-18
Packaged: 2019-10-30 17:26:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,927
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17832926
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ghibliterritory/pseuds/ghibliterritory
Summary: To the surprise of basically everyone, Christmas at the Shatterdome was… well, rather cheerful.





	december, 2023 (oh what a night!)

**Author's Note:**

> this has me Vibrating guys i'm really proud of this?

To the surprise of basically everyone, Christmas at the Shatterdome was… well, rather cheerful. Genuinely, honestly, cheerful. Somehow.

 

For a while, people could forget that the apocalypse was looming over their heads. They could ignore the dangers in the water, the trauma most of them had seen up close. It was odd, Hermann thought, as he watched the place become more and more festive with time. How could so many people pretend that their lives weren’t constantly on the line for the sake of one holiday?

 

He personally didn’t get it. While he didn’t celebrate much faith, even if he had, the idea of Christmas wasn’t one he really understood. That wasn’t something that had been encouraged in his childhood. No Christmas songs on the radio, no overlit trees.

 

God, what a sad life he lived, huh?

 

He didn’t think about it much, or consider it much of a tragedy. It was just the facts. He had nothing to do with Christmas, and he’d been absolutely fine staying away from it.

 

Until Tendo forced his name into a Secret Santa activity one year.

 

It was, pardoning his language,  _ fucking absurd. _ He hadn’t even realized until the Marshal had to drag him out of the lab to participate in the name drawing. Even then, while he was upset with Tendo for making him involved (he could tell it was him by the way Tendo glanced at him and tried not to hide his laughter the entire time), he might have been fine with the whole ordeal if he got someone that he could have gotten  _ anything _ for. This was not the case, however, when he grabbed a slip of paper and pulled out the one name with the most significance.

 

Newton-fucking-Geiszler.

 

In  _ any _ other case, he wouldn’t have cared. But this was a much different case. A personal one. For some ungodly reason, it mattered to Hermann that he got the perfect thing. It couldn’t just be the first shiny thing he found in the Hong Kong market. It had to be specific, it had to have meaning.

 

Hermann wouldn’t admit that out loud if you gave him a million dollars, but it was the simple truth of the matter.

 

Of course, in the week he’d been given to acquire said gift, he panicked. Internally, of course. But it was still very much a panic. In his defense, he had never really done this before- the only time he ever bought presents was for his siblings or his mother. Mostly his mother. It wasn’t the same thing, though, because he knew them and cared about them differently. The week was spent barely doing any work, much to his chagrin, as he traveled as much of Hong Kong as his leg would allow to find something. Maybe a new tool for his experiments? Or, perhaps some Kaiju knick-knack? No, nothing so trivial.

 

When at last Hermann found something that was at least suitable, he spent the rest of his time fretting the entire exchange. What was he supposed to do? Just give it to him? No, that eliminated the whole “secret” part of the deal, didn’t it? Then, would everyone get together and give their gifts? Did they drop them off at their doors?

 

Mako- or, to him, Miss Mori- answered his questions by dragging him out of the lab to a gathering between Jaeger pilots and command alike. It was just a party, like any other, and all Hermann had to do was drop off his present, take his, and leave. No one forced him to stay- it bugged his hearing aids sometimes to be around too much noise- and he was thankful.

 

The lab was nice and quiet when he came back again, letting out a sigh as he made sure the doors were shut tight. It would have bothered him if they were. Hermann shambled over to his desk, setting down his present. It wasn’t very heavy, and was wrapped quite terribly. Tape took up most of it. He couldn’t help but smile at the charm, and, taking a seat, he started to peel it back. His fingers felt the touch of waxy paper leave, replaced by smooth plastic. He furrowed his brow and removed it all much faster as his curiosity got the best of him.

 

Sitting before him was a small stack of records, all in decent condition. The Best of Edith Piaf, Sounds of Silence, and Hunky Dory. Admittedly, Hermann hadn’t listened to much of the music, excluding sweet Edith, but something about the gift pulled at his heart strings. He ran his hands over every cover, smiling wide. They were all absolutely perfect- he was certain he could play them on his phonograph.

 

A thought struck him. Only one person actually knew the importance of his phonograph-

 

“Herms!” A voice pulled him from his thinking, making him jump and stand up. Hermann turned fast to see Newton walk into the lab, holding his own unopened present. A lump formed in his throat.

 

“Newton.” He muttered, standing straight and fiddling with the handle of his cane. “Why aren’t you off enjoying the party?”

 

“Why aren’t you?” Newt asked, hopping up onto his own desk smoothly. He was clearly not gonna be ready to leave. Hermann hummed discontentedly, fixing the records back into a neat stack. “You know me and noise- too little is odd, too much is worse.”

 

His lab partner chuckled softly, nodding at the thought. “Yeah, I know, but still. Can’t you turn that hearing aid down for an hour or two, old man?” He teased. Hermann rolled his eyes. Of course, he couldn’t escape the teasing no matter how much he wished for a Christmas miracle like that.

 

He stepped over to Newt’s desk, his free hand reaching up to mess with his glasses chain. “Right, right- did you come in here for any real reason? Or, just to torment me?”

 

“Please, you  _ love _ my company.” The other grinned, setting his present on his lap. “No- I just wanted to see if you were alright. Plus, I wanted to show off my absolutely kickass gift.”

 

“Newton- you don’t even know what it is.” Hermann pointed out. He wouldn’t exactly call it “kickass”, but the words made him at least a little excited. Newt shrugged and kicked his feet a little. “Still. I’m kind of excited! I thought Tendo got it for me, but he got his for a pilot I don’t even know the name of.”

 

Hermann nodded, nervously licking at the inside of his lips. “Well, let’s see it then.”

 

With another grin and excited look in his eye, Newt took to ripping off the wrapping paper. Hermann couldn’t bring himself to watch, really- his own nerves were starting to get to him and he didn’t want to see any possible disappointment from his friend. He closed his eyes, trying not to be too obvious about it.

 

“Oh, my god.”

 

The words made Hermann even more nervous, and he practically had to force himself to open his eyes to see. Newt looked shocked, neither in a good or bad way, as he looked at the small box in his hands. Hermann had done a little trick in putting a box in another box to build suspense, and while he regretted not seeing the confusion when Newt came across it, he figured maybe it was better he didn’t. His own eyes went to the little box, lid discarded as the other gently lifted the gift out of it.

 

Hanging on Newt’s fingers was a thin, golden chain, supporting a Kaiju charm. The same one on his arm- Hermann had made sure of that. It glinted in the harsh lab light, and he felt his hands shaking as the other didn’t speak. Hermann tried not to bite his lips, staring at the charm. Was it too small? Or, not the right Kaiju? He pondered what was taking Newt so long to react, and his eyes darted up to see the other’s- and he was taken aback. Tears formed in the corners of Newt’s eyes at he started at the charm. “Newton?”

 

Newt blinked, shaking his head a little. “Sorry, I…  _ wow _ .” He mused, slowly smiling. “Wow! Look at this! It’s  _ beautiful _ , I mean- holy shit!” He couldn’t help but laugh as he lifted the necklace higher and tilted his head in various ways to get a good look at it. Hermann felt pride swell in his chest- no, not pride, happiness. He felt happiness swell in his chest. “Well, it’s certainly fitting. You do seem to enjoy jewelry, after all-”

 

“You  _ bastard! _ ” Newt said, shocking Hermann once again. “What?”

 

Newt hopped down from his desk. “I know you got this for me, don’t act so fucking nonchalant about it!” He still sounded excited despite the subject. The other couldn’t think of much response- how had he even known? “You… what?”

 

“You don’t make it very difficult to figure out, first of all.” His partner informed him, clutching the chain tightly. “Your muttering is too loud and your wrapping is too neat.”

 

Hermann could feel his cheeks getting warm, and he stammered for something to say. It turned out, though, that he didn’t really have to say anything- before he could even think of getting a word out, Newt had his arms wrapped around his torso. Gently, thankfully. Hermann stuttered, still wanting to find  _ anything _ to say. Nothing came. So, slowly, he hugged the other back, muscles tense. “Well… I guess I’ll have to get… better at that then.

 

Newt laughed into his chest and pulled away. He might have been crying. He didn’t mention it. “Whatever, man, it doesn’t matter to me if you were secretive or not. But… thank you. It really, really means a lot, Hermann.”

 

He couldn’t help but smile at his friend. “You’re welcome, Newton. And, thank you for your present- you aren’t so secretive yourself.”

 

A sheepish grin spread on Newt’s face. “Maybe I wasn’t trying to be.” He suggested, making Hermann chuckle. “Alright, if you say so. The point still stands, though, that it was a very thoughtful gift. I… didn’t realize you payed attention to my music tastes.”

 

“Of course I did.” Newt said, taking the moment to put the chain on. It complimented him well- the color of the pendent made his eyes pop out a little. “You play it way too loud. But, also, it’s good music.”

 

“I’m certainly glad you think so.” Hermann sain, leaning on his cane. He sighed. “Right. Well. If you want to go back to the party, don’t let me stop you- I’m certain I’ve held you in here long enough.”

 

Newt huffed, fingers fiddling with the chain. “It’s not that great of a party. Kinda crowded, no alcohol- worthless to me.” He shrugged. “I’d rather be in here. For many reasons.”

 

There was a momentary thought that crossed Hermann’s mind- if he was one of those reasons. But he thought, no, it couldn’t be. “If you insist. I think, if you don’t mind, I’ll continue to stay here with you.”

 

“Go right head, bud.” Newt spoke almost too quickly, but Hermann dismissed it and offered another smile before heading back to his desk. He lifted up his glasses to sit on his nose and he looked at the records. Then, he couldn’t help but look back at Newt, gazing at the chain the best he could.

 

His heart skipped a little beat.

 

From outside, he could have sworn he saw a flurry of snow pass by.


End file.
